(By John Shomby) The fourth biggest movie opening weekend in history happened earlier this summer and reinforced a brand that has been around since the late 50s. Mattel’s 64-year-old doll, Barbie, led that historic weekend with what has become the most talked-about movie of the year.
Let’s first examine Barbie’s success. Production was a steep $145 million before marketing. The first trailer was released with Avatar 2 last December, and they have been non-stop ever since – the beginning of an estimated $150 million dollar advertising campaign. Along with that, the campaign included collaborating with 35 brands from an AirBnB pink Barbie Dream House in Malibu to Cold Stone Creamery to dating app Bumble and more. One has to wonder how many dollars came in from those partnerships.
In its first weekend, Barbie made over 330 million dollars globally. They broke a Warner Brothers record surpassing 2008’s “The Dark Knight” as their highest-grossing movie ever plus whatever they initially made from the partnerships. Of course, now it’s well over a BILLION dollars for the summer. The marketing has been more than paid for. The movie was a resounding success, and the brand was revived and made stronger than ever.
There is a story here for radio especially when it pertains to branding. Barbie had a big marketing budget, but they also had 35 partners who went in on it with them. These weren’t simple movie sponsorships. They were well-thought-out, creative partnerships that enhanced the Barbie brand along with the partner’s brand. A win-win.
They created a unique branding statement that covered the positive and the negative in a “tongue-in-cheek” fashion. They knew the character/doll’s history and did not ignore it. They went with the slogan, “If you love Barbie, if you hate Barbie, this movie is for you”. Another brilliant move to attract the ones who loved growing up with Barbie and those who hated what Barbie represented versus the real world. Find that unique branding statement for your station and have some fun with it. (Hint: “Today’s Best Variety” does not cut it.) One station I monitored this past week was already doing something like this setting up a new song with an admittance that the “cool kids” already knew it. They did not ignore radio’s current status with younger listeners. They embraced it.
Marketing resources are definitely an issue for radio so spend some time on the partnerships for that possible win-win. Even though “Barbie”’s producers knew they had to lay out big dollars to even think about getting any return, they also knew the brand needed an enhancement and not an overhaul, thus the collaborations that ONLY fortified the brand – like the Barbie Malibu Dream House. You can see how that worked out for them.
It all begins with a unique, memorable message and then spending quality time planning how to get that message out effectively. Sales, programming, and promotion all working together for collaborations that make sense (and I’m not talking about studio sponsorships, etc). If a 64-year-old Mattel doll can do it, I’m guessing a radio station can, too!
Based in Nashville, TN, John Shomby is the owner and CEO of Country’s Radio Coach. He is focused on coaching and mentoring artists, radio programmers, and on-air talent to help them grow and develop inside the radio station and the industry. Reach John at [email protected] and 757-323-1460. Read John’s Radio Ink archives here.
